Violin, from the Novelties series (N228, Type 4) issued by Kinney Bros.
Medium
Commercial color lithograph
Dimensions
Sheet: 2 3/4 in. × 1 in. (7 × 2.5 cm)
Classification
Prints|Ephemera
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
The Jefferson R. Burdick Collection, Gift of Jefferson R. Burdick
Accession Number
Burdick 218, N228.147
Tags
Art Historical Context
Step into the vibrant world of 19th American advertising with *Violin, from the Novelties (N228, Type 4)*, a diminutive gem produced by the Kinney Brothers Company in 1889. This commercial color lithograph, measuring just 2¾ × 1 inches, was likely one of many collectible cards inserted into cigarette packs to entice smokers and spark collecting fervor. Part of a popular series, it captures a man with his violin—evoking the era's fascination with music and performers—amid a booming tobacco industry that turned everyday products into cultural phenomena. The artwork showcases the artistry of chr...
About the Artist
Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company · 1869–2011
**Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company (1869–2011)** Founded around 1869 by Francis Sherwood Kinney in New York City, the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company quickly rose to prominence in the burgeoning American cigarette industry. Francis, a pioneering tobacco manufacturer, experimented with hand-rolled cigarettes using blends of Turkish and Virginia tobacco, scaling to mass production by employing Europ...